BIRCH:
 (Betula alba) A Druid sacred tree. Also known as Lady of the Woods, Paper Birch or White Birch. The antibacterial leaves give a diuretic tea used to treat gout and rheumatism, to dissolve kidney and bladder tones and to lower cholesterol. Steep two teaspons of leaf per cup of water for twenty minutes. The dose is one to one a half cups over a day. Birch twigs and leaves are simmered and added to the bath for itchy skin conditions and falling hair. Taken before bed, the tea is sedative. The young shoots and leaves make a tonic laxitive. The inner bark is simmered and used in fevers. Twigs and bark are simmered using two teaspoons of plant per cup of water for twenty minutes. The dose is one-fourth cup four times a day. The twigs of B. lutea (Yellow birch) and B. lenta (black birch) are gathered in spring and simmered gently for twenty minutes to make a delicious beverage. Please note: the leaves must be used fresh, and not after Midsummer, as they will then contain natural insecticides. The white birch has no real flavor and does not make a good beverage tea. The bark and bud oil are used in medicated soaps.

a)       Parts Used:  Leaf, bark and twigs

b)       Magical Use:  The traditional broom of witches is made of birch twigs. Protection, purification, wards negativity, love, new beginnings, changes. Birch is a feminine tree and an embodiment of the Great Mother. Cradles are often made of her wood as a protection for the child.

c)       Aromatherapy Use: Gout, Rheumatism, Eczema, Ulcers